


Ballad of the Nightingale

by Lost_In_The_Muse



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Ba Sing Se, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Escapism, Gaang (Avatar), Gen, Humor, Iroh (Avatar) is a Good Uncle, Iroh (Avatar) loves Tea, Life in Ba Sing Se, POV Third Person, Season/Series 02, Self-Indulgent, Self-Insert, Self-Insert as Jin (Avatar), Songs, Tea, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, lots of singing, no betas we die like men, positivity, who else needs a break from the real world?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-02 16:55:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24300190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lost_In_The_Muse/pseuds/Lost_In_The_Muse
Summary: What does it mean when you’re living through a pandemic, suddenly find yourself in Ba Sing Se with absolutely no explanation, and the only thing you have going for you is an uncanny knowledge of your Spotify playlists? Escapism during quarantine just got a whole lot more epic. OC Self-Insert.
Relationships: Iroh & Jin (Avatar), Iroh & Zuko (Avatar), Iroh (Avatar) & Original Female Character(s), Jin & Zuko (Avatar), Zuko (Avatar) & Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 90
Kudos: 309





	1. On My Way

**Author's Note:**

> Obligatory I don’t own Avatar: The Last Airbender and I don’t make money off of any of the fanfics I write. The song used in this chapter is On My Way by Phil Collins, which I also don’t own.

“Are you going to pay for that melon or are you just going to stare at it all day?” Someone snapped at her. 

The girl blinked as the world refocused around her like a camera lens, going from a big blurry mess to sharply defined visuals. 

The first thing she noticed was the giant melon she was holding in her hands. It was difficult not to consider she was holding it so close to her face that her nose was practically touching it. Her arms were getting strained just by trying to hold the thing up. 

Slowly, she lowered the melon only to reveal a clearly annoyed middle aged woman wearing a dark green… tunic? Dress? Kimono? Standing behind a farmers market-esque vegetable stand. 

“Well?” The woman asked, impatience bleeding into her voice. 

The girl blinked again. And again. And again. But the scene remained exactly the same no matter how much she willed it to change. 

She flicked her eyes to the right, and then to the left. A bustling marketplace flooded her vision, and she felt panic rising in her chest. 

Men, women, and children all wearing color coordinated outfits walked down the street, shopping, talking, and going about their daily lives. Food carts, stalls, and stands littered the sides of the dirt road where all different kinds of vendors displayed their goods. 

But what struck the girl the most was that no one was keeping six feet apart. No one was wearing a mask, and speaking of which, she couldn’t feel the familiar warmth and weight of her own handmade mask on her face either. 

This. 

This was not her kitchen. 

This was not home. 

Oh god she was going to get sick. 

“Hey! Are you listening to me? If you don’t have the money, then get lost.” The sound of the vendor’s voice pierced through the girl’s daze, and the girl shook her head to try and center herself. She was still holding the melon. Why? She didn’t know. She couldn’t remember ever even picking it up in the first place. 

Almost mechanically, the girl lowered the giant fruit into the large wooden crate filled with melons. “Um. I’m sorry?” Her voice rang at a higher pitch than normal as hysteria began creeping in, “Actually, I don’t think I know what’s going on right now, I’m not where I’m supposed to be. Do you by any chance have a mask? Hand sanitizer? Gloves? I’m-” 

She cut herself off, as a pedestrian brushed past her back and she nearly jumped in the air from the unexpected contact, and for a few moments the only thing on her mind was the image of germs spreading all over her back from that one spot. “-nope nope nope, I need disinfectants. I need disinfectants right now.” And tea. She very much needed a cup of soothing chamomile tea, because she didn’t think her heart could take much more of this stress.

The vendor let out a very audible, bone-deep sigh of disgust, “Great. Another crazy.” Then she leaned over the counter and stared down at the girl, “Listen kid, move out of the way so that the paying customers can have their space, and then go back to whatever hospital you escaped from or I’ll call the Dai Li to escort you. Now we can do this the easy way, or the hard way.” The vendor punctuated her threat by cracking her knuckles. 

A mousy squeak escaped the girl’s throat “I’m sorry! Sorry to bother you!” she said as she held her hands up in the universal sign of surrender, and began to back away “I’ll, um. Just be on my way, I’m sorry.” 

The girl whirled around and booked it.

* * *

To much, to much, to much to much tomuchtomuchtomuchtomuch-

The girl’s hand shot out to the side to steady, but then she immediately retracted her hand before she could lay a hand on the side of the building. She belatedly realised that she probably shouldn’t touch anything outside without her gloves on. 

On shaky legs, she sunk down to the ground into a crouch. Rocking back and forth from her toes to her heels, she wrapped her arms around her knees and lowered her forehead until it touched the rough fabric of the dress she didn’t remember ever owning. 

Breath

One Mississippi

Release

Two Mississippi

Breath

Three Mississippi

Release

Four Mississippi

Breath

Five Mississippi

Release

Six Mississippi

Breath

Seven Mississippi

Release

Eight Mississippi

Breath

Nine Mississippi

Release

Ten Mississippi

Breath

The girl lifted her head. 

Release

She could definitely still use a mug of hot tea right now, but at least she felt calmer than before.

Almost as if she was trapped in a dreamlike state, the girl’s head drifted to the right. Then to the left. There was no one around. She was all alone in a tiny abandoned alleyway. 

What happened? 

What had happened to her? Where was she? Why was she there? Was she kidnapped? Who changed her clothes? Did she pass out at some point? Was she dreaming?

And why the hell wasn’t anyone socially distancing? Do they not care about the spread of the virus?

She quickly lifted the collar of her shirt to cover her mouth and nose. It wasn’t much, but it would have to do for now. 

The last thing she remembered was being at home like she was supposed to. Scrolling through social media, rearranging her room out of boredom, and making the occasional trip to the kitchen with a blanket draped over her shoulders like a cape on her way to replenish her snack pile. 

But she stepped over the threshold between the hallway and the kitchen and then- and then- and then-

She was holding a melon.  _ Outside  _ in the middle of a _ freaking city. _

Echoes of a child’s laughter bounced against trash cans around her. The girl glanced over in the direction that the noise came from. She couldn’t see the kid but she could see the plenty of adults walking past the entrance of the alleyway she was hiding in.

This definitely wasn’t home. This wasn’t even her town. So where was she? What happened? 

There was a pause. 

What was her name? 

The question caused the girl’s heart to leap into her throat. 

How could she forget her own name? 

* * *

Her name was Jin. 

Only, that wasn’t her name. It was just that popped into her head when she passed by a reflective surface and saw a stranger’s face staring back at her. It was not her face, she knew that much for certain. 

But by the end of the day, she didn’t didn’t care. She had to have a name to give to people if they asked, and Jin seemed like the one that came most naturally to her. Besides, she had far more pressing issues to worry about. 

Like the fact that she was in a fictional universe. 

Jin had memories of this place. Of the winding paths with old fashioned buildings that looked to be inspired by Asian architecture lining them. Of the green color schemes of pretty much everyone and everything that Jin laid her eyes on. Even of the nervous chatter she overheard from time to time about an ongoing war raging just beyond the walls. 

And of course she couldn’t forget the ridiculous amount of police officers around the city who could each individually cause earthquakes with just a punch. 

The earth-based magic was a dead-giveaway. 

The first time Jin witnessed someone move the dirt beneath her feet, she was trying to find a more sanitary location to hide out in, and she backed up so fast that she tripped over her own feet and knocked into a cart full of plush toys. She didn’t stick around long enough to fully register that someone had inconspicuously broken the known laws of physics in front of her. Jin was far more worried about the fact that she suddenly had an unexpected faceful of merchandise that she knew for a fact had been touched by many unwashed hands. 

The complete disregard of pandemic etiquette was enough to make the girl want to cry and hurl herself off the side of a giant, Niagara Falls sized waterfall. 

It wasn’t until Jin was far enough away from all of the commotion that she felt safe enough to slow down and take a breather, did Jin fully process what she saw. 

With a wave of their hand, someone had raised a column of dirt up out of the ground to lift a wooden table up to the second floor of a building. 

That should not have been able to happen. That should not have been possible. It was like magic, something out of a comic book, it was…

...Earthbending

There was a pause. 

And a massive unabating grin spread across Jin’s face, lighting up her features. 

Earthbending. 

Jin had witnessed someone bend actual _ dirt _ to their  _ will _ . 

Suddenly, all of those mishmashed memories, all of her feelings of deja vu, and strange feelings of familiarity aligned in her brain. It all clicked together.

This was the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

She was in Ba Sing Se, a city Jin had only seen on a computer screen years before when she first discovered the existence of a cartoon that became her middle school obsession. 

Ordinarily, the idea of teaming with the Gaang, learning cool bending moves, and saving the day would have been the absolute highlights of a hypothetical situation like this. But that had become an added bonus in comparison to one single little detail between Jin’s home world and the Avatar-verse. 

“There is no coronavirus here.” Jin muttered in what almost could pass as disbelief. “Covid-19 doesn’t exist here,” she said a little louder, letting the statement hang in the air as she fully processed what that meant. Then she let the collar of her shirt that she had been pressing up to her face as a makeshift mask fall away. “THERE IS NO VIRUS!” she yelled in unadulterated joy. 

Giggles bubbled up from her chest as she sprinted out of the alleyway she had been hiding in. Then out of nowhere, she hugged the nearest person and immediately burst out crying because this was her first physical contact in months. 

The poor pedestrian was so confused over why this strange girl tackled them out of nowhere and started bawling, but Jin couldn’t find it in herself to care. She detached herself from that random person, briefly apologized through her tears of happiness for invading their personal space, and she turned and bound away. Jin took to the streets with new eyes. 

She drank in the scenes of people walking close together, chatting, sitting in restaurants, picking up random trinkets that catch their eyes at each stall, and honest to god interacting with one another. Children were running around playing tag, or hide-and-seek, or capture-the-flag. People were brushing past each other, shaking hands, holding hands, and crowding around each other without a care in the world. 

It was an absolute dream, a reality she had so very much missed. Jin didn’t have to be alone anymore. 

And she was in the Avatar: The Last Airbender universe! One of the greatest cartoons of her childhood! How amazing was that? 

Her pace quickened with excitement, going faster and faster with each step until Jin was running at a full blown sprint. Then she started to wave her arms around clumsily, her running turned into skipping, and she twirled around in the air every few steps in a whirlwind to the beat of her own continuous laughter. 

At first it was all just random flailing, limbs shooting out this way and that. But slowly her movements began falling into a sloppy, and highly-butchered mishmash of bending forms that Jin half remembered from the show she watched so long ago. 

“Water,” she said with a maddening grin, moving her hands in a push-pull motion. “Earth,” she stomped her foot down hard and delivered a powerful kick to the air with the other. “Fire,” She brought her foot down in a quick and concise motion, striking the ground with her heel. “Air,” She finished by flicking her wrists around each other as if she were rolling a ball between them. 

Nothing came out of those motions. No signs that Jin could potentially be a bender in this universe, but they were sure as hell fun to do. 

“Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony,” Jin recited the introduction that she had memorized by heart, “Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them. But when the world needed him most, he vanished.”

At some point in her frolicking, Jin ran out of energy. She slowed down and stopped next to a lone tree on a hill. She collapsed down into a sitting position with her arms stretched out behind her to support her weight as she relaxed herself into a reclining position. 

“A hundred years passed and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar, an airbender named Aang. And although his airbending skills are great, he has a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone. But I believe Aang can save the world.”

A puff of air escaped her lips as her eyes settled on the expansive, if rather flat, skyline of Ba Sing Se. With an endless expanse of luxuriant clouds morphing between different shades of whites and greys and even purples as a backdrop, the view of the city was quite possibly the most gorgeous sight Jin had ever seen. For a long, serene moment, Jin sat there admiring the world around her. Just breathing, not thinking. 

A breeze picked up and ruffled Jin’s hair in the same way it ruffled the grass below her and the leaves above her. 

Jin wasn’t entirely sure what she was supposed to do from here. If she was supposed to figure out the exact mechanics of how she got to this universe in the first place, if she was or wasn’t supposed to meddle in the plot, or even if any of this was actually real. 

It felt real, though. That had to count for something, right? 

If all of this was just a dream, then this was probably the greatest form of escapism from her isolated existence Jin could think of. If this was real, then holy crap she was living out some of her wildest, wishful-thinking dreams right now. 

Either way, this was her opportunity to actually be part of a story that held so many fond childhood memories for her. She could join Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, Zuko, Iroh, and all of the others on an adventure of a lifetime! She could work out the details as she went, but Jin would be an absolute fool to let a chance like this go to waste.

With that resolution made, Jin let herself lay down fully in the grass, spreading out her limbs like a starfish. Her fingers started tapping against the earth to an unheard beat, and she nodded her head rhythmically. She beamed at the sky. 

And Jin began to sing.

_ Tell everybody I'm on my way _

_ New friends and new places to see _

_ With blue skies ahead, yes I'm on my way _

_ And there's nowhere else that I'd rather be _

_ Tell everybody I'm on my way _

_ And I'm loving every step I take _

_ With the sun beatin' down, yes I'm on my way _

_ And I can't keep this smile off my face _


	2. Yellow Submarine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song used in this week's chapter is "Yellow Submarine" by the Beatles.

Jin had two major realizations in the days following her first appearance in Ba Sing Se. The first realization was perhaps the most glaring. She couldn't read.

It took her maybe fifteen minutes of gallivanting around the Lower Ring of the City before she thought: Huh, none of the street signs are in English. It all kind of looks like Chinese characters. Neat, just like in the cartoon. Wait… WAIT- Everyone's speaking fluent, accentless English! Shouldn't there be some evidence of the Latin alphabet around here somewhere? How the actual hell did the English language even develop in an Eastern influenced world?

Then there was a whole line of Crap, crap, crap, crap crap crapcrapcrapcrap because while practically every single person Jin ran into spoke English, there wasn't a single thing written down in English. And Jin being the monolingual person that she was, simply could not understand any of the Asian pictorial alphabet around her. She couldn't read the store signs, she couldn't read the scrolls, she couldn't even read the names of the products she bought.

That was an issue she needed to address, especially considering that everyone else seemed to be perfectly literate as well. Which made Jin feel embarrassed about her own lack of knowledge. And she had no clue what to do to fix it. It wasn't like she could just walk up to a random elementary school and say 'Whaddup, I'm Jared, I'm nineteen, and I never fucking learned how to read.'

So Jin decided to do some snooping. She talked with some vendors at some handicrafts stalls, chatted with a group of Moms at a local park, and got into a debate over the viability of a wood-chip-and-mud concoction's ability to heal bug bites that a twelve year old boy was selling outside a residential building.

Eventually she managed to wrangle up the name and directions to an Adult Learning Center that primarily catered to newly arrived refugees who's education may have been disrupted by the war and occupation. The Learning Center was near the wall that divided the Lower Ring and the Middle Ring, A bit far from where Jin decided to set up her home-base -an old abandoned building that gave off spooky haunted vibes but still was durable enough that Jin could scatter some candles, and throw an old mattress into one of the empty rooms. But she could still make it to the Learning Center if she speed-walked for about an hour so the commute wouldn't be as bad as it could have been.

A day after acquiring this information, Jin found herself in front of a large, two story building that was a little old, and a little run down. Jin couldn't decipher what was written on the large sign hanging from the front entrance, so she reached out and tapped the shoulder of a person walking out of the building.

"Hey, this is the Adult Learning Center, right?" she asked self-consciously, worried that she might have gotten the location wrong. She could practically feel the embarrassment of the situation bubbling right underneath her skin, turning it bright pink.

The person Jin stopped nodded unperturbed, "Yes it is. The main office is just on the left when you walk in. They've got complimentary chamomile tea."

Jin's whole being instantly perked up at the prospect of free tea, especially chamomile tea at that. All hints of hesitation vanished as she quickly thanked the person and hurried on inside. Sure enough there was an office space on her left complete with a little reception area that included a self-serving tea set and a stack of ceramic mugs.

There were a few people speaking with the old lady manning the front desk ahead of Jin, so she busied herself with pouring some tea as she waited.

"Nice" she murmured to herself serenely before chugging the whole cup down in one gulp. It tasted just like her chamomile tea stash from home, a little lukewarm but the flavors were all still there. Jin hadn't had a chance to make a batch of tea like this one since she found herself in the Avatar Universe. Mostly because Jin couldn't actually read the labels on the canisters of loose-leaf tea that were on sale at various shops, and she was too proud to ask someone else to read them out loud to her. It's not as if she wanted to advertise the fact that she was practically illiterate here.

"Next person, please." The old lady called out, breaking through Jin's thoughts. Jin quickly righted herself and sauntered over to the desk, the cup of tea still in hand.

"Hello! I'm Jin, I'm eighteen, and I never learned how to read." Jin said, trying to take a humorous approach to the situation in order to disguise her own discomfort, "I was wondering if you offered any reading classes?"

The old lady stared over her glasses with an eyebrow raised, and Jin thought that maybe she shouldn't have started off the conversation with a joke. But then the woman looked down at the table top, and shuffled through some papers and scrolls. She separated one sheet from the pile, took out a brush out of an ink well and circled several boxes drawn on the paper.

"We have Introductory Literacy courses three times a week in room 4" She pointed at the writing that looked like pure gibberish inside one of the circles, "just down the hall from six to seven o'clock in the evening. The first two classes of most of the course here are free, but then you will have to pay for each class you take after."

Jin tried on an easy smile, "Sounds great!" And then almost as an after thought she asked, " Do you have any basic Earthbending classes?" If she was here asking about reading classes, she might as well figure out if there was a way to learn Earthbending. She would be an absolute fool if she didn't at least try to figure out if she could bend.

The old lady looked Jin up and down. "Are you an Earthbender?" she asked in an almost condescending tone. Jin tried not to let it get to her.

"Well, I don't think I am but I can't be 100% sure that I'm not a bender." Jin hummed thoughtfully, "I mean I've never been formally taught bending either, so maybe I actually am an Earthbender but I just need a little extra instruction to unlock and harness my power."

"Uh huh." The old lady said skeptically. "Earthbending lessons are only for Earthbenders, however if you do suspect you are an Earthbender you may make an appointment with the instructor during his office hours to get you tested. Due to the fact that we currently only have one Earthbending instructor under our employment, there are no free trials for any of our Earthbending courses. Consultation with the Earthbending instructor will also cost money." And then the lady shot Jin a pointed look, "Will payment be an issue?" As if Jin was some ruffian that had come in out of the streets just to waste her time.

But that description was partially true.

That was the second unfortunate realization Jin had come to. To put it plainly, she was broke. Jin had no job, no documentation, no nothing. All her worldly possessions consisted of the clothes she woke up in, a handful of copper coins she found in her pockets.

Jin literally had no money to pay for anything at all.

But Jin simply continued to smile and chirped, "That should be fine! However, I won't be able to pay until next week, and then I would like to schedule an appointment with the instructor. Would it still be alright if I attended those free literacy classes to see if they will work for me?"

The old lady seemed to relent after a few moments of consideration, "I can start a file for you but if you cannot pay for the full course, you will not be allowed to continue with your education. And until you have paid for the Earthbending instructor's time up front, you cannot be scheduled in for an appointment" She warned.

And Jin nodded along. "Yeah, that sounds fair."

Jin wasn't going into this blind. She did actually have a plan to get some money that she had spent lots of time planning for. After all, they said that music was a universal language. And if there was one thing that Jin was good at, it was singing.

* * *

Day one of being a street performer, Jin made nothing. Nobody stopped for more than a few minutes to listen, nobody dropped her any coins, nobody even seemed to be enticed by Jin's extensive knowledge of songs by The Beatles.

Jin considered the utter lack of appreciation for the genius of The Beatles the real tragedy of the day more than anything else.

Day two was pretty much the same as day one, only instead of singing The Beatles, it was The Jonas Brothers. The owner of the music store she was standing outside took pity on her and gave her some coins that were contingent on Jin agreeing to sweep the floors of the establishment.

Jin pocketed about half of it and then used the rest of her day's wage to buy two whole sandwiches from a nearby food store, because food was important too for her continual survival. But the shop owner who sold her those sandwiches didn't seem to care that there was a chicken-goat creature thing eating his cabbage supplies that he used to make his food. Jin didn't know if she should say anything. She managed to ration the sandwiches that she had to last for four meals.

And Jin didn't get sick so that was a plus.

Day three brought a group of loud teenagers to the music store. None of them could sing, none of them played an instrument, they were just there to pass the time. They stopped to listen to Jin as she was going through her 80s music playlist. Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go by Wham! and Another One Bites The Dust by Queen were both very popular.

By the end of the day, after setting aside her savings for classes, Jin had enough money for three hearty meals plus desert at a restaurant just up the street. She was beyond ecstatic.

Day four was cold and rainy. Very few people were out. Jin didn't make any money. She went to the Learning Center and made use of her free trial to attend her first reading class. So that was one highlight of the day. She learned how to spell her own name.

Day five had more people listening to Jin sing than all of the previous days combined. Most of them were adults out doing their shopping, and they couldn't seem to get enough of Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande songs. The queens of Pop.

But just because a lot of people were listening, doesn't mean that they were also willing to part with their money for that privilege. By the end of the day, Jin was more than a little miffed at how little she made in comparison to how many people she saw bobbing their heads to the melodies she sang.

Day six, Jin got pick-pocketed on her way back to her little fort she had been living in, and she didn't realize until it was too late. Jin didn't know exactly when and where it happened, but now a whole day's wage was gone and she didn't want to go into her savings she had set aside for her reading classes at the Learning Center.

That was fine though. She still had some leftovers from the previous day and it wasn't like she was a stranger to going a day or two without food.

She just had to suck it up and carry on. Tomorrow was going to be a new day.

Then something interesting happened on the seventh day. Jin decided to go through her Beatles playlist once more. Now that she was more of an established performer, she figured people would pay more attention to her songs.

She was right. Half way through her rendition of Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, children started hovering around her, watching with utter fascination in their eyes.

As Jin sang more and more songs, more and more kids came to listen. And just as she was finishing "Yellow Submarine", someone in the crowd broke out in song.

"We all live in the yellow submarine! We hate the darn machine! We want to paint it green!" a boy, no older than nine, yelled out enthusiastically. A wave of laughter followed from the other children.

"Again, again! Sing the song again!" a little girl cried out.

Jin couldn't help the way her smile grew so big, it almost split her face in half. "Alright. You're all welcome to sing along if you'd like"

Cheers erupted amongst the crowd. It didn't take long for the kids to pick up on the lyrics, and by the time the chorus of the song rolled around, fifteen little Earth Kingdom children who had no idea what a submarine even was, were stomping their feet to the beat, and singing "Yellow Submarine" at the top of their lungs.

_We all live in a yellow submarine_

_Yellow submarine, yellow submarine_

_We all live in a yellow submarine_

_Yellow submarine, yellow submarine_

The kids came back on the eight day. Then the ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth. They came back each and every day, and Jin's heart felt a little lighter.

Jin gave herself Mondays off, and not just because Mondays were the worst day of the week and no one ever wants to do anything productive on a Monday. Jin noticed within the first few weeks of doing street performances that out of all of the days of the week she made the least amount of money on Mondays.

Maybe it was because the people with money were overly focused on work, or perhaps it was just the Monday blues keeping people away.

It didn't matter, the result was the same. Jin earned so little on Mondays she just gave up on trying to entice a crowd. Jin did have class in the evening, but that was only one hour of commitment, and she had to find ways to fill up the whole rest of her day. Instead she would spend the day wandering around Ba Sing Se.

She'd stop by stalls, she'd stop by stores, she'd look through restaurant windows and mindlessly doodle using a stick on the dirt roads.

Really, Jin would go anywhere her feet took her. But she did try to avoid the neighborhoods deemed bad even by the Lower Ring standards.

Jin's mindless Monday wanderings were what led her to find a tucked away little restaurant that she would later find out was called the Pao Family Tea House.

She didn't realize it was _the_ tea house when she first stepped into the establishment. She was only in her third literacy class, and although she had made some headway in learning how to read Chinese characters, she still hadn't progressed enough to confidently read any of the storefront signs or anything complex like that.

But when she stepped into the restaurant, the familiar smell of tea relaxed her. And miraculously enough, Jin learned that they also served chamomile tea after asking one of the waiters for a run down of their menu.

The tea house became an instant favorite, and Jin took to going there at least once a week, spending what little pocket change she had to indulge herself.

While it probably wasn't a financially good idea, Jin couldn't help but think that the little taste of home was worth it.

It was a nice little restaurant too. Oh sure it wasn't the cleanest, and it got very cramped during the lunch rush, but it was one of the few places where Jin could release the constant tension in her muscles and peacefully enjoy her drink.

Jin would fall into a trance the moment after she ordered.

She'd think about home, her family, her friends, her world.

And she would drink her tea in long drawn out sips to savor the taste.

* * *

Jin had an idea. It was half baked, she was probably going to be stepping over some boundaries, and Jin wasn't even sure if it was going to work in the first place.

It was for the tea. Jin was doing it for the tea. She had to remember that.

The teenager stood by the ordering counter of the tea house she had been frequenting. The employee manning the register had gone into the backroom to fetch Pao himself as per Jin's request.

The tea, the tea, the tea.

"Good afternoon, Sir." Jin greeted and bowed when she saw him approach. Before Pao could say anything, Jin continued hurriedly "I'm sorry to disturb you, but I would like to inquire if you hold live performances in your Tea House."

Good, good. Remember the manners, remember the formality.

Remember the tea.

The owner of the Tea House blinked, "Hello, miss." He responded in kind, but then paused for a moment. "I can't say we do that here very often. Only on special occasions when a customer requests music for a party or gathering. Would you like more information on reserving the Tea House for special events?"

"No, no, no. No thank you," Jin said. "I wanted to see if you were hiring performers. For the special events and maybe even during the restaurant's regular hours."

Pao hummed out loud as he thought about the prospect. "I suppose it will depend on availability, hourly rates, if you are a good fit for this environment, and whatnot. But before we can get into all of those details, I'll need to determine if you are skilled enough to be a hired performer here. What exactly is your act?"

There is tea on the line. Do it for the tea.

"I sing songs that are popular in my home, and I can play several different instruments including the piano, guitar, ukulele, and the drum."

There was a pause.

"I'll have to hear you before I make any decisions." Pao finally said, "Come back tomorrow morning, before the restaurant is officially opened for the day. I'll be there to let you in and then I'll see if you will be a good fit here. Make sure to have something prepared."

Jin felt like she was going to explode with utter relief. "Thank you so much! You won't be disappointed, Sir!"

* * *

Night came and went. The morning was welcomed by the soft rays of the yellow sun, and the pleasantly inhuman chirping of morning birds.

In a pleasant turn of events, Jin got the job. She celebrated by treating herself to cake and extra chamomile tea to wash it down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who read my story and left a comment. I read every single one and treasure them all. Next time we will be seeing the introduction of some more canon characters!
> 
> Stay safe from Covid and all of the violence. 
> 
> ~Lost-In-The-Muse


	3. Break My Stride

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song used in this chapter is Break my Stride by Matthew Wilder. The Disney movie Moana is also briefly mentioned.

Jin was internally panicking. A dark anxiety wrapped itself around her stomach and squeezed until it felt like everything she had ever eaten was going to come right up.

This always happened before a major performance, though, so Jin knew what to expect. Her hands would get clammy, her knees would feel weak, and then came the overwhelming sense of I-don't-want-to-do-this-oh-god-why-did-I-talk-myself-into-this-I'm-so-stupid would completely take over.

But Jin was prepared. Every hour leading up to the performance, she took moments to meditate, and always had a bit of tea on hand to soothe herself. She would spend time staring up at the sky, letting her whirlwind thoughts float past her like the clouds above.

She had her coping techniques, but that didn't mean that her worries magically went away. It just made them easier to manage before she started her first official day on the job.

Tonight was her first solo performance at the Tea House, and Jin could not mess this up. The amount of money she was getting paid for this gig was more than she thought she would get. Pao seemed to like Jin's singing when she performed for him at the interview, but that didn't necessarily mean that the patrons of the Tea House were going to like it too. God forbid if Jin scares off some potential customers with her music tastes. If people walked out because of her then she didn't think she would be able to return to the Tea House with her dignity intact.

That's why she spent all week agonizing over her playlist for her first Friday night performance, combining a mix of blues, classic oldies, and most predominantly folk music. She'd been a street performer in Ba Sing Se long enough to know what the popular music was.

The Earth Kingdom had a culture that was deeply rooted in traditional folk music. What Jin knew as Pop music did exist here, but it was generally a niche interest. Rock music wasn't really a thing and rap music was nonexistent.

Jin learned this through trial and error. Of all of the genres of songs she had in her repertoire, it was the folk songs that got her the largest audience, and subsequently the most amount of cash. So that was what she had chosen to focus on.

She was a little disappointed that bubbly pop music wasn't as popular here as they could be, but she figured that she could slowly work it into her playlists if she ever became anything more than what she was now.

But until then, Jin had to focus on what worked for her at the moment. And that's what she doubled down on.

She'd done her research, going to other music nights at restaurants, out in the streets with other performers, and down in the art and music district of the Lower Ring. From all of those locations, she had picked up on the songs of the Earth Kingdom and beyond. Some songs were from Ba Sing Se itself, and others that have traveled across the continent, even internationally, as passengers in the minds of refugees.

For her very first performance, Jin decided to alternate between songs the audience would recognize, and songs only Jin knew before she breathed them to life in this new world.

Ancient songs about strong willed earthbenders, unflinching firebenders, adaptable waterbenders, and detached airbenders, were mixed in with the likes of Bob Dylan, Patty Griffin, Paul Simon, Peter Seeger, and a host of other artists.

And of course, The Beatles.

They may not have been folk, but Jin didn't give any performance without dropping in at least one song by the legends themselves.

But first she had to ease herself, and everyone else for that matter, into her performance. So she stood on a thick green mat that doubled as a makeshift platform pushed up against the far wall where a few tables had been moved to make room. Dozens of eyes lay on her form as she held up her second-hand liuqin that she had recently purchased specifically for this job.

The room fell quiet.

Jin breathed, keeping a slow and steady pace. She could do this. She could do this. Just start with something light and happy, something to get herself into the zone.

Then with a strong strum of the liuqin, the tap of her foot, and the bop of her head, Jin did what she did best. She sang like a nightingale.

* * *

Jin did it! Her performances were a success! The patrons loved her music! At the end of her Saturday night routine, Pao paid Jin for her two night routine. Once the cash was in Jin's hands, she had enough money to pay for a consultation with the earthbending instructor at the Adult Learning Center.

Finally, she could get assessed by a professional that could determine if she was an earthbender in this world who was just awful at self-study, or a non-bender as she was in her old world.

Come Monday morning, Jin decided to forgo her weekly tea day and proudly marched down to the Center, slapped her cash down on the receptionist desk and said, "I'd like to book an appointment to see if I'm an earthbender, please."

And the old lady, who straight up refused to tell Jin her name no matter how many times she asked, gave Jin an eternally unamused stare. In the past two weeks or so that Jin had been attending literacy classes at the Learning Center, the expression of the receptionist never seemed to change. She was unmoving, just like a boulder.

"If you're that desperate to know if you're an earthbender, then I can save you the money right now and tell you that you are not." The old lady said scathingly, "Earthbenders know they are earthbenders from the time they're toddlers wreaking havoc on the world. If you aren't then you aren't. An appointment won't change that."

Jin's smile grew a little strained, "Well I just wanted to double check. There's no harm in that, is there?"

The displaced girl did realise that it was highly likely that she wasn't an earthbender. After all, she had spent a lot of her free time watching earthbenders in the street and trying to copy their moves in the hopes that something would click. Jin would give anything to have magical powers in a magical universe.

However, not a single spec of dirt moved on Jin's command unless she kicked it up in a cloud of dust as she attempted to follow along with the movements of earthbending. This was her last chance to see if her hopes would come true.

The old lady let out an uncaring huff, "Suit yourself. Master Fo has an opening in an hour. The next available time slot that she has will be tomorrow before the morning Intermediate Earthbending class begins."

Jin chose to have the appointment in an hour, even though she would have to mill around in the waiting area until she was called upon. Which wasn't that bad honestly, sure the receptionist lady who never did give Jin her name and at this point Jin felt too awkward to ask for it was a little stand-off-ish, but hey the free chamomile tea was still there and Jin could spend all day drinking that.

Minutes slipped away like a bar of soap in a bathtub while Jin daydreamed and drank tea. She wasn't quite sure how much time had passed like that but she was soon startled out of her thoughts as a tall, imposing woman entered the room.

The receptionist barely reacted but Jin was startled into full attention when the woman called out, "Jin."

Jin jumped out of her seat, "That's hello!" she said before instantly cringing at her word mix up. "Aaaah I mean that's me, I'm here. I'm here. Yes, hello." she finished a little awkwardly.

The woman, at the very least, didn't look too bothered by Jin's lackluster introduction, and she offered Jin a kind smile. "My name is Master Fo. I hear you want to get tested to see if you are an earthbender, yes?"

Jin nodded eagerly, not trusting her words.

"I will admit that this is an unusual request for someone your age. People typically figure out if they are benders when they are young children." Master Fo stated, and looked to Jin for her to fill in the gaps.

Jin felt herself shrink a little. She didn't know that it was so unusual for someone not to know if they were a bender at her age, she thought that maybe the receptionist was just giving her a hard time but hearing the earthbending Master say that as well made Jin doubt herself. It kind of made sense too, since Jin didn't remember anyone from the show figuring out they could bend later in life. Well, there was that whole airbender thing in The Legend of Korra but that was a completely different situation.

Or maybe this was the same thing. Jin didn't know, that's why she was trying to figure this all out.

"Well you see," Jin began, pausing to try and find the words to describe her situation in a manner that Master Fo would understand, "I didn't have any opportunities to see if I was an earthbender until I arrived at the city. But now that I'm here I really want to see if I am one, just to make sure. I didn't really know where to start so I thought I'd get some professional help."

Something in Master Fo's eyes seemed to soften at Jin's words, and she waved her hand, "Please, follow me into the training room then. I'll have you run through some basic exercises that we typically cover in the beginner earthbending classes."

And with a happy little noise, Jin followed.

* * *

"Lets start with form. The signature features of earthbending is its low stance coupled with strong, balanced, and powerful strikes. Your stance must be as solid as the ground you are standing on. Create a connection between you and the earth."

"Too much of your weight is in the balls of your feet. Distribute it more evenly. Good. Now strike like this."

"You are still leaning too far forward. Keep your heels grounded, and straighten your back. Perfect, just like that. Strike again."

"Slide your foot forward, do not hop it forward or you will lose your connection to the earth. Try again."

"You are swinging your arm through the strike when you should end the movement sharply and firmly. Again."

"Again."

"Again."

"Again."

* * *

It was only a thirty minute appointment, but at the end of the session, Jin felt like every single muscle in her legs and arms were on fire. Her face was red, and she was sweating enough to fill a bucket.

"Alright," Jin said as she put her hands on top of her head so that she could catch her breath, "So how did I do?"

Master Fo, who didn't even seem out of breath even though she had been doing every single move that Jin had done, gave a respectful nod of her head, "You are a very determined individual, and it shows. It is normal for beginners to struggle when they first start to learn bending, and you did your best to adjust to every correction I made of your stance without a single complaint. For that I commend your work ethic,"

Even though the words were positive, Jin felt a stone sink into her stomach. There was a 'but' somewhere in there. She could just tell by the way the other woman paused and left her sentence hang in the air.

"But, I am one hundred percent certain that you are not an earthbender." Master Fo delivered the harsh truth, "It is simply not an ability that you have."

Something must have shown in Jin's face because a few moments later the earthbending master said, "I am sorry. I know that is not what you wanted to hear."

"No no no, it's ok." Jin was quick to reassure, but her words felt distant and empty. "It was a long shot in the first place. Thank you so much for giving me the chance to try."

The two bid each other farewell, and parted ways. Master Fo to work on her lesson plans for her earthbending students, and Jin to… well, Jin didn't know where she was going.

She had already spent the money she usually set aside for her weekly tea days on the consultation, so the Tea House was out. She didn't work on Mondays so her regular audience wouldn't be around her usual performing spot in the streets. She didn't have literacy class until tomorrow evening since she was registered in the Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday session, so she didn't even really have an excuse to kill time at the learning center.

There was nothing to do now.

Jin quietly walked out of the training area, down the hallway of classrooms, passed the front office, and out the front door. There by the entrance, she stopped and stared up at the cloudless sky.

There was a small part of her that was devastated over the fact. When she was trying to earthbend on her own Jin could at least pretend that there was a possibility that she could bend, but having a master earthbender confirm that she could not earthbend at all meant that possibility was closed for good.

Jin mourned for that lost pathway.

A few beats passed as Jin stood wallowing in her own misery. Then she shook her head and took several deep and steady breaths.

This was just a set back, she had to remind herself. Just because she couldn't earthbend didn't mean that she couldn't bend at all. She hadn't even seriously tried fire, water, or airbending. Earthbending was just the most convenient form of bending she could learn.

Jin made fists of her hands and shifted her gaze straight ahead in determination.

She took a step forward. Then another, and another. Her pace quickened rapidly until she was power walking down the streets of Ba Sing Se with a new found strength. She was heading to her little makeshift home where she could experiment and practice what precious little knowledge she had on other bending styles.

Lyrics filled her head and music escaped her lips in the form of humming. Jin turned the corner and a song came tumbling out of her, each beat synchronizing with her foot steps.

_Ain't nothing gonna break my stride_

_Nobody gonna slow me down_

_Oh no_

_I got to keep on moving_

_Ain't nothing gonna break-a my stride_

_I'm running and I won't touch ground_

_Oh no_

_I got to keep on moving_

* * *

"Do you know any good stories?" A little girl, no older than eight years old, asked Jin one day after one of Jin's daily after-school sing-a-longs. Then without even waiting for Jin to answer she continued, "Can you tell them?"

Jin gently put down her liuqin and leaned it up against the wooden crate she was sitting on, "Well, I do know a few stories but I'm not really a good story teller-"

That was all the kids needed to hear before the mob mentality took over.

"Tell us! Tell us! Tell us! Please, please, please, pleeeeeeeease?" They begged. The little girl who initiated the chanting reached out and clung to Jin's arm and pulled out the most highly effective puppy dog eyes Jin had ever seen on a human being.

And how could Jin say no to that?

"Oh alright," She said, conceding to the little gremlins she spent her time entertaining, "What kind of story do you guys want to hear?"

There was a brief moment of quiet. And then-

"Can we hear a story about a non-bender?"

"How about one about the spirits?"

"I wanna hear some songs too! Can you make it a musical?"

"I want to hear something about waterbending because waterbending is so cool!"

"Are you kidding me? Waterbending sucks, earthbending is the coolest bending there is!"

"Come and say that to my face why don't you!"

"Alright, alright!" Jin put a firm hand on the shoulders of two ten year olds who were absolutely ready to throw hands, "This space right here is a positivity zone, which means no fighting allowed, and that goes double for fist fights. If you guys can't get along then I won't tell a story. Ok?"

The eyes of the two boys grow so big that Jin was worried that they would pop right out of their heads. But then they jumped apart and began apologizing profusely. The girl who initially asked for the story even pushed herself in between the two boys just to make sure that they separated.

While this was all happening, Jin's mind worked furiously. She was trying to come up with a story that would satisfy all of the children's demands. It had to be a story that she knew, a story that she could explain to the kids without having to go into the trouble of explaining concepts that only existed in Jin's home world like cars, or widespread use of electricity.

Jin hummed and clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth as an idea popped up in her brain. "I do know of a story that involves a non-bender and spirits. There isn't any earthbending in it exactly, but there is quite a bit of water and singing involved. Would you like to hear that one?"

A chorus of approval erupted amongst the kids and they gathered closer to hear.

"Once upon a time. Long, long ago. There was a world where humans couldn't bend any element at all. There were no earthbenders, there were no waterbenders, there were no firebenders, and there were no airbenders. Only non-benders existed. However, while this world lacked bending, Spirits roamed free across the land and sea. The line between the Physical World and the Spirit World was so thin that ordinary people could see and interact with these Spirits.

And in this world, lived a young girl who was chosen by the Spirit of the Ocean to go on an epic quest to save the entire world.

Her name was _Moana…_ "

* * *

Jin slipped into the Tea House a few days later, waved to Pao, and took her seat at her usual spot by the window. It wasn't Monday, but her regular order of chamomile tea was calling to her so she decided to have her own little tea-time Thursday instead of tea-time Monday.

It took her a moment to notice a new employee had placed her tea in front of her. A few beats before the new voice that awkwardly said "Here's your tea" registered in her mind.

Jin took an eager sip and closed her eyes in delight. Something had changed, Jin noted as soon as the hot liquid touched her lips. This was by far the best brew she'd ever had at the Tea House. She moved to thank the waiter for bringing her the order.

She opened her eyes and immediately spat out her drink. A spray of hot liquid splattered against the server's face as Jin began choking on the tea that dripped down into her windpipe.

Crap.

Jin had known that Zuko and Iroh were going to be in Ba Sing Se at some point but she didn't think that they'd be right _here_ right _now._

Through blurry, tear filled eyes, Jin forced herself to stop coughing. Her lungs still felt like they were about to explode, and little puffs of gravely air escaped her lips despite her best efforts.

But she could forgive herself just a little bit. It wasn't every day that the infamous banished Prince of the Fire Nation stood before her.

Crap crap crap crap crap, He looked like he was about to murder her. Goddamn it, why did Jin have to go and spit tea all over her favorite character's face? Why, why, why?

Desperate for some sort of distraction, Jin slammed her hands on the table and looked across the restaurant with wild eyes.

"FINLAND!" She yelled the first thing that came to mind, and then instantly wanted to die. This was not going well. This was not going well at all.

Before she could do anything else to embarrass herself even further, Jin threw her money down and bolted out of the Tea House.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! This chapter is a little late since I was hoping to update once a week, but this chapter is a little longer than usual to make up for it. I was having trouble writing out this chapter and trying to get all of the scenes to flow together well, and that contributed to the delay. But on the bright side, Zuko has entered the story! Zuko's first day on the job is going great by the way, if anyone is asking.
> 
> Thank you to everyone who left a comment on this fic! I read every single one and it just makes me so happy to know that you guys are enjoying reading this fic as much as I like writing it.
> 
> Until next time!
> 
> ~Lost-In-The-Muse


	4. Brand New

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song used in this chapter is Brand New by Ben Rector

Jin was dead inside. So so very very very dead.

What the hell was she thinking? Why did she yell 'Finland' at _Prince Zuko_ of all people? Why did she do that?

The first time she comes face to face with one of the main characters of the show, and what does she do? Pull a Patrick Star and scream 'Finland'. Jin was never watching Spongebob again. Absolutely never. Oh god, she done fucked up.

Jin had to apologize, and she had to do it as soon as humanly possible.

She stood across the street from the Tea House, nervously pacing back and forth trying to gather up the courage to walk in. She had to do this. She absolutely had to.

First off, it was so incredibly rude to yell at someone like that, regardless of how shocked and disoriented Jin had been in the moment. Secondly, they were now, apparently, co-workers. Jin still had a job to do, and she couldn't avoid the pair forever.

She was not someone who wanted to create a toxic work environment. Absolutely not an option, especially when the other people she was working with did absolutely nothing wrong to her. Jin would rather be a doormat.

Jin just… needed a moment to gather herself. Psych herself up before going in and making amends. With Zuko. The banished Prince of the Fire Nation. The person who probably had the single greatest redemption arch in any TV show period. _Prince Zuko_.

Oh boy. Don't go down that thought process. It leads to self-implosion.

Friday had rolled around and Jin needed to set up her stage. But every fiber of her being was telling her to just turn around, go back to her little fort-like home, dig a hole in the ground, and hide.

Because she _spat out her tea and yelled 'Finland'_ at _Prince Zuko's_ face, who was working at a minimum wage job and couldn't do anything about it.

Oh god, it had just occurred to Jin that she had acted like a complete Karen. She was probably going into Zuko's worst-customer-ever-served list and on his _first day of the job_ too. That was the ultimate abuse of power, a complete annihilation of proper restaurant etiquette.

Alright no. She needed to stop with that thought process. This anxious frenzy she was stirring up in herself wasn't helping.

Jin needed to go in. She needed to just march right in, apologize, and move on. She needed…

She needed more time. Yup. That sounded right. She just needed a little more time. Maybe she could just reschedule her performance tonight indefinitely and go home, wrap herself in a blanket like a burrito, drink her entire stash of chamomile tea, and sing to the fireflies.

Yeah that sounded nice. All nice and comfortable, curled up in a fuzzy little nest under a canopy of stars, giving a private performance to flickering green dots buzzing around her head.

Nope. Not going to happen, as cozy as that sounded. She had responsibilities, and social obligations to attend to. Goddamn it, woman! Get yourself together!

Jin squared her shoulders back. She can do this.

She raised her head up, and squared She can do this. She was going to talk to Zuko.

Before Jin could lose her nerve again, she whirled around on one heel and sprinted to the entrance of the restaurant. She can do this!

The door swung open. It was actually quite anticlimactic.

Soft pleasant murmurs filled the air of the establishment accompanied by the distinct sound of tea being prepared and poured. Almost no one glanced up to see Jin enter. Almost.

There was a familiar elderly man with a long grey beard standing behind the front counter with a tray of different types of teas all arranged neatly on it. He took one look at her and smiled.

"Welcome back!" he said jovially.

Jin felt her heart sink to her stomach. That was Iroh. He recognized her. Crap. Had he seen her disastrous first impression yesterday? Maybe he didn't, and just recognized her as a regular, or had seen her out on the street or something.

"I was sorry to see that you didn't like my last chamomile brew-"

Goddamn it all to hell, he did see her yesterday. He absolutely did. Jin was two seconds away from grabbing the nearest shovel and digging her own grave right then and there.

"-but! I've been experimenting since then and I think I just may have found the perfect combination." The man, the legend Uncle Iroh continued as he placed his tray down and made his way into the kitchen area.

"Umm, no, sorry that won't be necessary." Jin said, holding a hand up to stop him, "The tea was actually very delicious based on, well, what little I had of it."

Oh that didn't sound right. Should Jin have said that? Can you compliment someone on their tea that you didn't even get to enjoy? Well, obviously Uncle Iroh's tea was good, he was Uncle Iroh. But she wasn't exactly supposed to know that, and-

Stop! You're overthinking things again!

Jin took another deep breath. Calmness. Get it all out. Just breath in that fresh, crispy-cronchy air. Yup. That do be some good air in her lungs.

"I wanted to apologize for my behavior the other day. Especially to the waiter. I was inexcusably rude and I… I can only say that there was no malicious intent behind it. I don't have a reason for what I did and said, other than that it had been a long day."

Oh, chamomile, oh chamomile. How she so desperately needed a nice cup of chamomile tea. That would stop her heart from beating out of her chest.

"And I am incredibly sorry for ruining your wonderfully brewed tea. I would love to try some more of it." Jin added on to her apology, her voice wavering slightly.

"That is alright, young lady. As the saying goes, there is no need to cry over spilt tea." The old man said, "And my nephew didn't mind either. True, he was a little startled, but he's quite the serious type."

Jin flushed a little. The worst part was over. "Oh, well, that's great! Thank you," she said, but then stopped short. No the worst part wasn't over with, Iroh wasn't the main person she was supposed to apologize to. Crap, how did she manage to forget already after spending so much time freaking out about their next encounter?

"Is… is your nephew in right now?" Jin asked cautiously.

The old man shook his head, "No, he just went out on his afternoon break. He might not be back for a while. He's been having a hard time adjusting to the city, and needs a bit of space right now."

Oh no, that wasn't good Jin just gained a whole lot more time to overthink things and get worked up about this whole mess.

If the old man noticed Jin's increasing uneasiness, he didn't let it show. "But enough about that, let's get you situated over by that table there. I'll be along in a minute to take your order."

Jin furrowed her eyebrows. That was weird, she didn't remember ordering anything- oh wait, crap. The end of her apology with the chamomile.

Now that she thought about it, the wording definitely could be taken as an order of tea for right now, but Jin had meant to say it in more general terms. That she would like to have some tea at an unspecified time. If that made any sense.

Crap, crap, crap. as much as she would like to defuse her stress with some tea, Jin did not have the time right now to truly appreciate a cup of tea made by Iroh himself. She wanted to wait until she could really enjoy it.

"Oh, um. I'm not here as a customer right now. I'm supposed to be performing tonight and I have to start setting up." Jin replied quickly, "However, I'd love to have a cup once I'm done with the performance!"

The old man's eyes widened a little as if he suddenly remembered something, and his grin returned full force. "Ah, so you are the young artist Pao has on call. I've heard many wonderful things about your songs. You must be a talented young lady."

Woah. That was a compliment. Jin shifted her weight from one foot to the other, swaying all the while. "I wouldn't really call myself talented. And they aren't really my songs, they're just some things I've picked up from home." she said, suddenly incredibly self-conscious about her work.

The old man hummed and closed his eyes, "Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything. I will be looking forward to your performance tonight."

Jin was aware that she had been talking to Uncle Iroh this whole time, but it didn't occur to her until just then that she was speaking with _Uncle Iroh_ , the greatest dad figure in the show, and someone she would sell her left kidney to spend the day with.

_And he dropped a poetic metaphor on her!_

Best. Day. Ever.

At one point or another, Jin desperately wanted to have a chat with him over some tea. Talk about philosophy, talk about the world, talk about the birds, and talk about tea. Just anything really.

No lie, Jin stayed quiet for a moment or two longer than necessary as she was internally fangirling, before smiling wide to say, "Thank you!"

Iroh let out a good natured chuckle at her enthusiasm. "I don't believe I've introduced myself yet." He said, "My name is Mushi."

Right. Mushi. They were in Ba Sing Se right now. Jin couldn't' go around calling him Iroh. Mushi, Mushi, Mushi. She needed to remember that.

"I'm Jin." She chirped in greeting.

"It is lovely to meet you." A pause, "Although I must ask, what is 'Finland?"

Cue the record scratch sound effect. Just by hearing that one word, Jin considered herself officially deceased.

* * *

The door swung open so fast, it hit the wall with a massive crack. Jin bolted into an upright sitting position and cranked her head around to see who had entered, along with every other person in the Tea House.

Standing there was none other than Prince Zuko himself. Dang, did that boy know how to make an entrance.

Oh dear. It was happening.

"Ah, Lee," Iroh greeted as he peeked his head out the window to the kitchen, "Welcome back from your break! I hope you're fully rested because it's going to get busy tonight"

Zuko grumbled something in response that Jin couldn't hear. Suddenly, the teenager turned to her.

Jin had to suppress a squeak of fear when he leveled his glare at her. Zuko seemed so much more intimidating in person than she ever anticipated. She was half expecting him to storm right on over to her, and start interrogating her.

But he didn't. He stayed where he was. Glaring.

Jin ducked her head down quickly and tried to make herself look busy by tuning her liuqin. She could feel the hairs on the back of her neck prick up as Zuko stared at her.

No, bad idea. Don't make yourself look busy, just walk on over there and get that whole conversation over with already.

Just stay calm. Think happy thoughts. Jin had the perfect opportunity to apologize to him. No need to get worked up, he was just a teenage boy…

...a teenage boy who was practically a master firebender, can use sharp pointy objects as weapons, and had basically been in charge of a military ship for several years, can definitely beat her unathletic ass in a fight, and, and, and-

Jin was definitely overthinking things again. Of course she knew all of these things were true about him, but she was actually supposed to _know_. As her conversation with Iroh reminded her, The two Fire Nation royals were in exile right now. No one in Ba Sing Se was supposed to know that they were anything other than the unassuming refugees, Mushi and Lee.

Mushi and Lee, Mushi and Lee. She wasn't talking to Iroh and Zuko, she was talking to Mushi and Lee.

They wouldn't risk their cover over Jin's weirdness. Right?

Besides, she already talked with Iroh. Jin could consider that as practice for the most important apology she needed to make.

Jin paused for a moment to think about the soothing cup of chamomile tea that was waiting for her when her day was done. Then, when she was instilled with new found confidence, she got up to confront the firebender.

"Excuse me," Jin said when she caught up. She inhaled the delicate scent of jasmine as Zuko half turned his head when he heard her approach. His scarred eye was on full display for her to see.

"Hello!" Jin continued, trying to act as calm and collected as she could. She was not messing this up again. "My name's Jin. I'm not sure you remember me, but-"

"-you yelled 'Finland' in my face." the prince said in his rather raspy voice, completely cutting off the girl's attempt at being subtle, "And spit tea in my face," he continued rather pointedly.

And Jin died again. Her soul had departed from her body. Just completely gone. Left for greener pastures.

This whole 'Finland' debacle was going to end up like one of those embarrassing cringey middle school memories that kept her up at night years after they happened.

Jin fake coughed into her hand, to buy herself some time to organize her thoughts.

"Well, yes, um. That's actually what I'd like to talk to you about." Then she straightened her back out and brought her arms down by her sides, "I wanted to apologize for yelling at you. It was uncalled for, and I don't know what I was thinking. I have no excuse for my poor behavior."

Jin looked down for a moment before bringing her gaze back up to make eye contact with the Fire Nation boy. "I'm sorry."

An awkward silence descended upon the two save for the sounds of the patrons of the Tea House enjoying the meals.

Uh… crap, was she supposed to add more? Should she have lengthened her apology? Jin had figured making it relatively short and to the point would be the best way to go about it, but maybe she was wrong? The silence was getting increasingly unsettling the longer it lasted.

Then suddenly, Zuko turned fully to face her. And Jin could see her own discomfort reflected in his face. Her fear of making the Prince angry evaporated as soon as she saw how equally unsure Zuko was.

The knot in her stomach undid itself, and Jin could feel her tense muscles relax just a little bit. She offered Zuko a smile to try easing him as well.

It honestly made Jin want to apologize again but this time for bringing the awkwardness into the situation.

"Uhhh, it's alright… I guess." Zuko finally said before his face scrunched back into a scowl, "Just don't do that again."

Jin nodded firmly, and resolutely. "Of course." That was a reasonable request. Jin was in no way shape or form planning on quoting Spongebob any time soon. Or spitting tea in anyone's faces.

She still couldn't believe she actually did that.

"I should probably leave you to your job then. I've still got to get my instruments set up," She said, gesturing to the drum and liuqin she had placed on the tiny stage.

Zuko leaned over and narrowed his eyes in what Jin assumed was suspicion. "You work here?"

"Yeah. Not full time, though. Just Fridays and Saturdays, so I'll be here tomorrow afternoon too."

Zuko didn't have anything to say to that. He turned around and walked briskly into the kitchen where his uncle was working.

"I hope you enjoy the show!" Jin called out behind him, feeling a little silly as she waved goodbye to him. But honestly? She couldn't bring herself to care anymore if she looked silly or not.

As chaotic and tumultuous as her emotions had been that day, her interactions with Iroh and Zuko went so much better than she could have imagined. The anxieties that had been plaguing her since yesterday were gone.

Jin felt so much lighter! Like a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

She _talked_ to them. Held actual conversations with her childhood heroes without screwing up all that much. And hey, the world didn't end, did it? In fact, Jin thought she could actually make some new friends.

How cool was that? Being friends with Prince Zuko, and Uncle Iroh? Well, she'd only had a few conversations with them, but it was definitely a state! Eleven year old Jin would have been jumping up and down screaming with joy. Hell, if Jin wasn't in public she would be doing just that right now.

Things were genuinely starting to get interesting, and Jin for one, could not wait to see what the future will hold.

But for now, she had a performance to prepare for. Big adventures can wait for tomorrow. Right now she had a job to do. Jin quickly went back to tuning her instruments, humming happy little tunes to herself as she worked.

About half an hour later, when the last of the lunch crowd had left and the customers craving dinner had started trickling in, Pao gave her the signal to begin her routine. She stepped up onto the makeshift stage and strummed a few chords to get her audience to lower the volume of their conversations.

Jin had initially chosen a different song to be her big opening number for the night. But now that she was staring out at her audience, with relief and happiness bubbling in her chest, she didn't think her first choice fit the atmosphere anymore.

There was another song that called to her, one that she was aching to sing. Her Earth Kingdom audience might not understand all of the words but they will definitely understand the overall meaning.

Jin stole a glance over to the kitchens, where Iroh stood in the serving window working on orders, but still paused for a moment to give her a kind and encouraging look. Behind the front counter near the cash register stood Zuko, scowling down at the wooden tabletop he was cleaning with an old rag.

And Jin was practically beaming at this point. She closed her eyes, let the sound of her liuqin wash over her, and the lyrics poured out of her mouth like a waterfall.

_I feel like new sunglasses, like a brand new pair of jeans_

_I feel like taking chances, I feel a lot like seventeen_

_I feel like windows rolled down, new city, streets and cabs_

_I feel like anything can happen, laughing,_

_You take me right back, when we were kids_

_Never thought I'd feel like this_

_Like when I close my eyes and don't even care if anyone sees me dancing_

_Like I can fly, and don't even think of touching the ground_

_Like a heartbeat skip, like an open page_

_Like a one way trip on an aeroplane_

_It's the way that I feel when I'm with you, brand new_

_Brand new_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the late update, I've been working on Original stories and writing fanfiction was a low priority this month. There won't be as long of a wait for the next chapter as I've already started on chapter 5. Chapter 4 was getting long so I just transferred some extra scenes into the next chapter.
> 
> Thank you everyone who left a comment! I read every single one, and you guys have no idea how happy they make me!
> 
> Until next time!
> 
> ~Lost-In-The-Muse

**Author's Note:**

> So who else needs a happy little escape from reality right now? Raise your hand.


End file.
